Monday, April 28, 2008

-Book-binding. I want to make a nice-looking book for the final project in one of my classes. Here are a few good sites I found today:Bookbinding For Beginners: A reproduced text from 1917 I believe, a little dense but good instructions.Making Books With Children: I'm probably going to do some of these projects first, they are written for kids so they are pretty simple but still have lots of potential.Rag and Bone Blog: A really awesome blog written by a bookbinder. It also has lots of art-inspiration type posts.

-Embroidery! I embroidered a set of napkins for my mom for her birthday, which I forgot to take a picture of, of course. They each had a different animal that could be found around the farm. I'm trying to think of a way to fuse my photographic interests with my sewing and embroidery skills in a way that isn't hokey.

-Rini Templeton mostly made art as activism. She referred to her work as "Xerox Art" because she made her bold, simplistic images with the express purpose of having them put on fliers and posters, so she wanted them to be easily reproduced. Her work is available to use even now in fliers and pamphlets (find out more on the website), but its her simple nature scenes that I really like. They would make nice tattoos or embroidery patterns (jeez aren't those on two ends of the spectrum?)

-Lists. I am a list maker, but not in any way that actually keeps me organized. My sketchbook is filled with lists like this:

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Sorry its been a little while since I've posted. I've been working really hard at school, I recently made a little photo album with pictures of ghosts in it. Unfortunatly, I had to turn it in before I had a chance to scan it, so when I get it back I'll post it here. The reason I bring it up at all is that I am interested in making a book for the final project in one of my classes, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice or knew of any websites that have good info on book binding. Any help would be most excellent.

I took this picture last time I was visiting home in Fresno, and it is a good example of the beauty that surrounds that place. If there had been some way to stay home and do what I am doing now, I would have done it. I lived in a paradise, there was a forest behind my house with acres and acres of room to explore and draw inspiration from. This isn't to say that I am unhappy where I am now or that I don't want to be here, but I do miss it dearly.

I am, however, glad I left. I'm a much better artist (and person!) for moving up to San Jose, and I've met someone I love with all my heart. I just hope that someday I can create a home that is as loving and amazing as the one I grew up in.

This post turned unexpectedly sappy, I guess I miss my family. However, how can you -not- miss a place where these little guys are made?

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Here are some bowls I made in my ceramics class. I've been having a good time making these, but I think glazing is my favorite part. Wheel throwing is so different from photography. I've always felt that photography is the most attention-deficit of the art forms, especially now with digital photography you can immediately see what you've done and move on to the next thing. Yes yes, there is post-production work in Photoshop and whatnot, but it is nothing compared to throwing a piece, waiting a few days for it to harden up, trimming it, waiting for it to dry some more, then bisque firing it for a day before finally glazing it and firing it for three to four days!

Ceramics is definitely teaching me to be more patient. It is also something that takes quite a bit of work and dedication. Generally I have been throwing all semester and these are the first things I have made that I am genuinely excited to show other people.

Its also very different to make objects that will be used. Photos are just to be looked at, where as with these, people can eat out of them! They are useful, too! This isn't demeaning my photographs in any way, but its just a different way to view things.

Here I am eating lunch out of something I made myself! That, by the way, is macaroni and cheese, something I make very well.

This one is probably my favorite. That shape is an imprint of my own hand on the glaze. :) Here are a couple more. Is this post too image-heavy?

Monday, April 14, 2008

This is an older piece I did when I was still going to Fresno State, so its probably almost three years old. I promise I'll get some newer work up soon, but I found this piece the other day and it kind of hit me with a lot of emotion. I did this with the idea of double exposing a portrait of my mom with something that was descriptive of her; her name is Robin and she has lots of little bird figurines all over the place. First I shot the roll with the pictures of various birds around the house, and then rewound the film and started taking my mom's piture.

Normally my mom doesn't really like having her photo taken. And whenever a picture of her is taken, she's smiling and posing for the camera. I remember when I was shooting this roll of film she did the same thing throughout most of the roll, she smiled and faced the camera. Finally, when I was almost done with the roll, my dad made some loud noise outside the door she was standing near, and she frowned in his direction. I snapped this last shot right before she said, "We got into a fight this morning."

My parents normally get along very well, so that was disturbing enough for me at the time. I remember printing this, feeling funny about it, putting it away after I turned it in. Now that I look at it, its not so disturbing as it is surprising how I was able to capture my mom in such a way, and that the double exposed image underneath happened to be a pair of birds. (That always reminded me of my parents together)

This might be an interesting idea to visit on again, but this time doing a portait like this for each of my family members. (Dang that would take forever, I have 4 siblings) I don't know how effective that would be in a fine-art aspect, I mean I don' t know how many people would be interested in seeing pictures of my family (as amazing as we all are). But maybe it would be a nice gift for my family, something to put up somewhere in the house.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

I found this guy while I was on a walk with my sister and her boyfriend. After I took the picture and showed it to them, Syd gave me one of the best compliments I have ever received. He said, "Now, I would have just walked on past this, but you see stuff like this and make awesome pictures from it."

Soon I'm going to make a post about how exactly I make these pictures. It involves too many adapter type things, that's for sure.

Tomorrow I'm going to work on an assignment for one of my classes, its an exposure test for the ZONE SYSTEM, which sometimes I think is an awesome way to go about things, and sometimes I think it is defunct. Minor White, one of my favorite photographers, was all about it, he even co-authored a book about it (which I own and have read the first 10 pages of, heh). Anyone else have any feelings about the ZONE SYSTEM?

Also, please recommend me some good blogs, your blogs and other people's.

Friday, April 11, 2008

I found this dragonfly, dead, in my parent's driveway this past summer. I was borrowing Felix's macro extension at the time, and taking these pictures has radically changed how I approach making images. There is something about this technique that fits my mindset about art perfectly.

At the risk of sounding cheesy, I am constantly amazed at what I see when I photograph. I am filled with a wonder at what goes on around everyone all the time, and Ihope that some of that comes through in this work.

I buried the dragonfly in the garden after I was done.

Also! If you are in the Fresno area, go to the Yoshi Now flea market this weekend! My friends Adam and Aurora are both selling excellent things there, and there are snacks also, which is always a bonus.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

This is a part of a series I did last semester. I feel like I am an explorer with my photography, I'm trying to understand things through my work. Just like a scientist discovers though study, this is my way of studying.

I want to hold myself accountable for making more art work. I want get more feed back on my work. I want my art to be more visible than it has been. So, I'm starting a blog!

I'm trying to immerse myself in my ideas. So often I think of things and nothing comes of it. I want my ideas to have more life.

If you're here and you don't know what/who I am, here's a little bit of that: My name is Centa, I am mostly a photographer but I like to do other things too. A little bit of pottery on occasion, and I also love to sew and embroider, which sometimes makes it way into my artwork.

I'm thinking that I'll post work in progress and finished work, along with an occasional (maybe weekly) artist that I enjoy. If you have you own blog, send me a link, I'd love to check it out!